No Matter What

Chapter 30

Meryl sat there and watched her husband sleep. She had already put their sleeping babies in their cribs as Don was afraid he might roll over on them in his sleep, and she agreed. The babies had brought him comfort when he needed them by sleeping in bed next to him, and she was glad. She sat there and ran her fingers through his hair as tears poured silently from her eyes. She just couldn't understand how a mother, how parents, could do this to their child. She loved each and every one of her children with fierceness and protectiveness that she couldn't put into words. She would often teasingly say to Don whenever their children were hurt by someone: mess with me all you want, but don't you dare mess with my kids. She felt that way about Don as well, it would infuriate her when untruths were printed about her husband and children in the rags. She honestly couldn't understand how Jane could do this to him. How she could arrange this. How she could have his abductors keep him in a building that she owned, that honestly needed to be condemned. That she would hide his captors in a home she owned in Chicago. Meryl thought back to how she BEGGED Jane to tell her where Don was and she claimed not to know. She also thought back to the awful things Brad and Topper had said. She wanted to understand how parents could treat such an amazing son that way. Don would give the shirt off his back to help someone in need. He was gentle. He was kind. He was loving. The only time he raised his voice was when his wife and children were being threatened. Meryl felt like the walls were closing in on her. She couldn't breathe. She needed to breathe. She needed to break. She wanted to break at the warehouse, but she didn't want to put that on Don. She wanted him to feel free to feel however he was feeling without being worried about her. With a kiss to Don's cheek, and then kisses to the babies' heads, Meryl grabbed Don's phone not wanting anyone to wake him up and walked out of the room. Trying to catch her breath.

***

Liz was taking a nap, while Mike and Larry were working on the case against the Grays and Jane, so Maggie thought she would peek in on Don and Meryl making sure they were okay. Mike had wanted her to rest as well, but she couldn't. She was too worried about Don and Meryl. She remembered when Jane had told her all those years ago that she was pregnant, and didn't know if she wanted the baby. Maggie had promised her friend to help if Jane wanted to keep the baby, from the moment Maggie held Don in her arms when he was born she felt like he was one of theirs, with her firstborn Larry being born a little while later. Maggie had always felt that biology isn't what made you family, it was love; and she and Mike loved Don and his family as much as their biological children. Which was why this was so heartbreaking for her and Mike. As Maggie turned down the hallway to check on Meryl and Don, Maggie's heart twisted when she saw Meryl leaned up against their closed bedroom door, shaking, trying to breathe. Maggie immediately went over to her. "Meryl, honey? It's Maggie."

"How could she, Mags?" Meryl sobbed. "How could she do this to him? She owns the fucking warehouse!"

It was at that moment that Maggie realized Meryl was trying to be strong for everyone, and she wanted her to feel what she was feeling. "I don't know, honey, I honestly don't know."

"His blood was everywhere. There was mold. Water everywhere. Rats and cockroaches." Meryl sobbed in her hands. "If we hadn't arranged things so quickly...he could have...he would be..."

Maggie took Meryl into a room across the hall, sitting on the bed and hugging Meryl tightly. "He's safe. You all are safe. They are all going to pay. Let it out, honey, don't keep it in. Let it all out. I've got you."

"Maggie?" Meryl asked as she finally calmed down after many minutes of sobbing, and she looked around. Her breathing was more regular. That is when she realized what happened. "Oh no, I had a panic attack, didn't I? I am so sorry, Maggie."

Maggie wiped away Meryl's tears and tucked her hair behind her ear. "You have NOTHING to apologize for. You are keeping everyone together. You needed to break. Especially after what happened and what you saw at the warehouse. You can't take care of Don and the babies if you don't take care of yourself."